Ozone Therapy and Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment in Lung Injury in Septic Rats

Various therapeutic protocols were used for the management of sepsis including hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. It has been shown that ozone therapy (OT) reduced inflammation in several entities and exhibits some similarity with HBO in regard to mechanisms of action. We designed a study to evaluate the efficacy of OT in an experimental rat model of sepsis to compare with HBO. Male Wistar rats were divided into sham, sepsis+cefepime, sepsis+cefepime+HBO, and sepsis+cefepime+OT groups. Sepsis was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of Escherichia coli; HBO was administered twice daily; OT was set as intraperitoneal injections once a day. The treatments were continued for 5 days after the induction of sepsis. At the end of experiment, the lung tissues and blood samples were harvested for biochemical and histological analysis. Myeloperoxidase activities and oxidative stress parameters, and serum proinflammatory cytokine levels, IL-1β and TNF-α, were found to be ameliorated by the adjuvant use of HBO and OT in the lung tissue when compared with the antibiotherapy only group. Histologic evaluation of the lung tissue samples confirmed the biochemical outcome. Our data presented that both HBO and OT reduced inflammation and injury in the septic rats' lungs; a greater benefit was obtained for OT. The current study demonstrated that the administration of OT as well as HBO as adjuvant therapy may support antibiotherapy in protecting the lung against septic injury. HBO and OT reduced tissue oxidative stress, regulated the systemic inflammatory response, and abated cellular infiltration to the lung demonstrated by findings of MPO activity and histopathologic examination. These findings indicated that OT tended to be more effective than HBO, in particular regarding serum IL-1β, lung GSH-Px and histologic outcome

Hotel customers’ behavioral intentions toward service robots: the role of utilitarian and hedonic values

This study aims to investigate the effects of hotel customers’ perceived utilitarian and hedonic values on their intention to use service robots. In addition, the influences of innovativeness, ease of use and compatibility on hotel customers’ perceived utilitarian and hedonic values were examined. Design/methodology/approach – The data of the current study was collected from 11 countries including the USA, UK, Turkey, Spain, Romania, Japan, Israel, India, Greece, Canada and Brazil. A structural equation modeling was used to test the study hypotheses. Findings – The results indicated that hotel customers’ intention to use service robots was positively influenced by their utilitarian and hedonic value perceptions. In addition, customers’ perceptions of robots’ ease of use and compatibility had a positive impact on their perceived utilitarian and hedonic values. Originality/value – The findings of the current study provide unique contributions in the context of hospitality robotics technology adoption literature. In addition, this study provides valuable insights and novel opportunities for hospitality decision-makers to capitalize on, as they strive to strategize the integration of robot-based services into their operations.2022-2

A MSFD complementary approach for the assessment of pressures, knowledge and data gaps in Southern European Seas : the PERSEUS experience

PERSEUS project aims to identify the most relevant pressures exerted on the ecosystems of the Southern European Seas (SES), highlighting knowledge and data gaps that endanger the achievement of SES Good Environmental Status (GES) as mandated by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A complementary approach has been adopted, by a meta-analysis of existing literature on pressure/impact/knowledge gaps summarized in tables related to the MSFD descriptors, discriminating open waters from coastal areas. A comparative assessment of the Initial Assessments (IAs) for five SES countries has been also independently performed. The comparison between meta-analysis results and IAs shows similarities for coastal areas only. Major knowledge gaps have been detected for the biodiversity, marine food web, marine litter and underwater noise descriptors. The meta-analysis also allowed the identification of additional research themes targeting research topics that are requested to the achievement of GES. 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.peer-reviewe

Negative Reviews: Formation, Spread, And Halt Of Opportunistic Behavior

Studies have shown that companies conduct compensation strategies in times of service failure to enhance recovery satisfaction and purchase intention. The role of compensation strategy in individuals’ propensity to leave fake negative reviews, however, has not been well studied. Accordingly, the present conceptual study addresses this gap. First, we present how customers’ deviant behavior is the result of companies’ service recovery strategies (i.e., compensation strategy) themselves. Next, we present how deviant behavior spreads out in a network and then comes to a halt. The paper concludes with a presentation of the conceptual model of the manifestation of individuals’ online deviant behavior. The research is important from both theoretical and managerial perspectives. From a theoretical outlook, this study adds to the literature on the dark side of guest services by investigating deviant behavior of customers and their strong ties. The research provides practitioners with a new perspective on how their service recovery strategy of compensation can lead to individuals displaying online deviant behavior and how they should address the issue

Organizational-level RFID technology adoption in the hospitality industry

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of technological, organizational, and environmental factors on the hospitality operators\u27 adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Based on a sample of 125 technology decision makers at major hospitality corporations in the US, the results of the study indicated that except stakeholder pressure, all of the technological, organizational, and environmental factors had significant impact on hospitality operators\u27 intention to adopt RFID technology. By identifying the factors affecting hospitality operators\u27 RFID technology adoption decisions, technology vendors could design appropriate marketing strategies to reach potential adopters and they could educate these adopters better on the benefits of RFID technologies in order to increase the usage of these technologies in the hospitality industry. © 2012 Cognizant Comm. Corp

Security-Related Factors In Extended Utaut Model For Nfc Based Mobile Payment In The Restaurant Industry

This study aims to provide an integrated model that examines the determinants of near-field communication (NFC) based mobile payment (MP) technology acceptance in the restaurant industry. The proposed model, which combines the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and technology acceptance model (TAM), was tested via structural equation modeling (SEM) by using data collected from 412 restaurant customers. The study results indicated that the proposed model provides approximately 20% greater explanatory power and predictive accuracy than the original UTAUT model and demonstrates strong evidence of the effects of risk, security, and trust on customers’ intentions to use NFC-based MP technology in restaurant settings. In addition, considering the total effect, attitude, security, and risk have the most substantial impact on customers’ behavioral intentions. The study results further demonstrate that risk, security, and trust are also important determinants, with direct and indirect impacts, of other critical constructs (i.e., effort expectancy, hedonic and utilitarian performance expectancy, attitude, and intention). The empirical findings provide valuable theoretical contributions for researchers and practical implications for restaurant operators and technology vendors by explaining the reasons as to why the NFC-based MP is not popular in North American restaurants

Hoteltonight Usage And Hotel Profitability

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the influence of a hotel’s listing on the last-minute hotel booking app, HotelTonight, and average daily rate (ADR) on the hotel’s net operating income (NOI). The study examines the mediating effect of hotel occupancy rate on the relationships between ADR and hotel app usage in terms of NOI. Design/methodology/approach: The data for the study was graciously provided by Smith Travel Research, Inc. for 80 hotels located in the top Florida destinations listed on the HotelTonight app. Hierarchical multiple regression with a mediation effect was used in the study to test the mediating effect of occupancy between hotel app usage and ADR with NOI. Findings: The research results show a positive association between a hotel’s HotelTonight listing and ADR in terms of its NOI. Occupancy is found to have a full mediation effect between a hotel’s usage of the mobile app and NOI. Originality/value: Mobile apps that specialize in last-minute hotel bookings have proliferated in recent years by providing hotels a mobile platform to increase hotel occupancy. However, there is a dearth of studies examining the effect these apps have on a hotel’s bottom line profitability or NOI